Police Officers and Gun Safety

I recommend reading the whole thing, but let's just see how many of the Four Rules the officers clearly violated, often with catastrophic results. Italics below are mine.

Rule One: All guns are always loaded.

The first accident occurred in February 1989 – less than a month before theguns reached officers on the street. Officer Adam K. Schutz was helping to testand clean the first shipment of guns when he shot himself in the fingers."It bit me," said Schutz, who was left with permanent damage to a finger onhis left hand. "I was moving my hand to lower the slide and it jumped forward. Ihad assumed the gun was unloaded."

Keep in mind that this is someone in the armorer's shop. It gets better.

Rule Two: Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

In January 1994, homicide detective Jeffrey Mayberry shot Officer James Dukes inthe stomach at police headquarters. "I hear a loud bang and Dukes is slowly falling to the floor," Detective Joseph Fox, Mayberry's partner, said in a deposition. "Jeff jumps up and says, 'Dukes, I didn't mean to do it, I didn't mean to do it.' "Dukes said in a recent interview, "He was playing with the weapon. This was the second time I had told [Mayberry] during that tour of duty not to point the weapon at me."

Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to sweep you with my Glock and plug you in the gut.

Rule Three: Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.

In October 1990, Officer Edward Wise fired accidentally and grazed a man'shead during an undercover drug operation at a Southeast Washington housingcomplex, according to police and court documents. Wise said he had beenstruggling with the man, Barry Braxton, who was unarmed. Braxton sued andcollected a $55,000 settlement from the District.Sabrina Whittle, who wasWise's partner, said in a recent interview that she and her partner were nottaught to keep their fingers off the triggers of their Glocks unless theyintended to fire."The most we had to go on was common sense," said Whittle,then a 21-year-old police rookie, now a security guard. "It was dark and lateand we were scared. I know that, both of us being scared, he had his finger onthe trigger. Obviously, [with] your finger on the trigger, you'reprepared."

Yes, prepared to accidentally shoot someone. The fact that this is in the paper and not buried in some investigation report, and that the former officer doesn't realize how wrong-headed it is - eesh.

Rule Four: Be sure of your target and what is beyond.

In March 1993, Officer Lakisha Poge fired a round through her bed whileunloading a Glock in her apartment, a police report states. The bullet wentthrough the floor and hit Glowdean Catching in the apartment below. Catching,who was wounded in both legs, has a suit pending against the District. Poge, whohas left the department, could not be reached for comment.

In this officer's defense, you could do worse than a bed and a floor as a backstop.

There is nothing magical about being in the military or carrying a badge along with your gun. There are people who invest in safe gun handling and proficiency. Sometimes those people happen to serve in the military or in law enforcement agenices. Sometimes they don't.

I have designed an excellent chamber flag, the K5 Weapon Safety Device, specifically for Law Enforcement training in an effort to reduce accidents during training, especially in low light. It also provides a visual que that a firearm is safe to point and handle when in the home oron the range. www.k-series.us for more information.

About Me

I am a former Special Forces soldier, International Defensive Pistol Association Master-Class competitor, and an attorney in Virginia. I teach NRA certified handgun courses and specialized concealed carry courses on the side. This blog focuses on lawfully carrying a concealed handgun, pistol competition (IDPA and
USPSA) and the legal aspects of self-defense. The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author.

DISCLAIMER:I am not your lawyer. You are not my client. The information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only.Readers agree to hold harmless the author of this blog and Defensive Force Instructors, LLC.